I Feel You In My Bones
by sonicstardust
Summary: '"Didn't it hurt?" Tori asked in awe, hesitating slightly before gently running her fingers over the exposed area. The ink was still bright and new, but it was now healed enough that Jade was proud to show it off.'  Jori fluff, oneshot.


"Didn't it hurt?" Tori asked in awe, hesitating slightly before gently running her fingers over the exposed area. The ink was still bright and new, but it was now healed enough that Jade was proud to show it off.

Jade couldn't keep from smiling over her shoulder at how impressed the other girl was. It was like she'd never seen body art before. It was kind of adorable, actually.

"Well, yeah. It's a tattoo – it kind of goes without saying." She turned her back to the mirror, her shirt rolled up under her arms, craning her neck to admire the new artwork that was placed on her mid-back.

"I don't think I'd be able to stand it. Not big on needles." Tori admitted, thinking back to a certain blood-donation fiasco.

"Hmm, there's a surprise." Jade quipped, but then felt an instant surge of regret as Tori looked hurt.

"But then again, you never know. Maybe you would be up for it. After all, pain is different when you know that in the end you'll have something you really wanted."

Seeming uplifted, Tori nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

Jade flashed a small, reassuring smile. "Now are you gonna help me out or what?"

She had been in the girls' bathroom, attempting to apply ointment to her own back, but she found that she couldn't reach it very well. She usually got Beck to do it for her, but she guessed that it would be frowned upon if she was found topless, in a classroom, with her boyfriend rubbing all over her back. Nope, no implications there.

So, as a last resort (at least that's what she told herself) she'd enlisted Tori to help her. Standing there in front of the sinks, she pulled her sweater all the way off, rolled it up, and hugged it to her chest. She turned her back to Tori, and waited expectantly. When the other girl made no move to start putting the lotion on, Jade again glanced back at her.

"It's not brain surgery you know. Just squirt some in your hand and rub it all over." she instructed bluntly, as Tori looked quizzical.

"Your bra is kind of…in the way." Tori said abashedly, fiddling with the lotion bottle.

"I'm assuming you know how to unhook a bra, Tori. Pull yourself together and help me out here."

"…Okay."

Tori's fingers felt cool on Jade's back as she undid the small fastening. Slowly at first, and then seeming more assured of herself, she proceeded to rub the ointment onto the tattooed area.

"So…forgive my curiosity, but why'd you choose this design? The old movie camera, and the words, I mean."

Jade leaned on the counter as Tori's hands massaged her skin. She hadn't explained it to anyone yet…but then again, maybe people assumed it was just her being a film student and making herself into an artistic cliché.

"I wanted to remember someone. The words are a Bob Dylan quote," Jade began to explain, "'Cameras make ghosts out of people'. It reminds me of these home videos I have of my best friend when we were kids…we grew up, grew apart, and I found out that she passed away. The only place she's alive is in those videos…and even then, not really."

"I'm so sorry." Tori breathed. "It must be really hard." She had stopped rubbing as she listened. Her hand rested flat on Jade's back.

"It's fine." Jade brushed it off, even though it was obvious that it meant a great deal to her. "Thanks for helping me."

Tori nodded, in unspoken understanding. She pronounced that the amount of ointment should be 'good enough' and even redid Jade's bra for her.

Feeling oddly lightened by having told someone about the meaning of her ink, Jade found herself in the mood to mess with Tori's head, but she mostly wanted to test a theory. Jade let her sweater fall from her chest, and lazily hung it in the crook of her elbow. She knew she was quite impressively endowed, and wearing her favorite pushup bra gave her confidence (among other things) an extra boost. Jade turned to Tori, whose eyes, as expected went somewhere between neck and navel before darting back to Jade's face.

"Thanks again, Tori." She said sweetly, turning on her heel and heading into one of the stalls.

"N-no problem," Tori stammered, "anytime."

Jade popped her head around the corner in time to see that Tori was still blushing. She chuckled; either Tori was the biggest prude in the world, or her theory was right, and there was a connection between them on more than one level. In any case, she could work with it.

"Count on it."


End file.
